Looks like 'FieldTurf' is coming...

H

howard

100+ Posts
The Statesman had a short story today about Russell signing with the Dodgers. At the end of the story:

"...although plans not finalized, team official says they are moving toward removing the old artificial turf and replacing with FieldTurf..."

It was in the paper version, can't find a link on their web site.
 
Saw that-what are the advantages/disadvantages of Field Turf versus other turfs. I know natural grass is more traditional, so that's not what I am asking.
 
Sounds good to me. I never much cared for the thought that we needed some kind of home field gimmick (that also happened to look like ****).
 
real grass....

may have something to do with hosting HS playoff games, and February season starts.. Bermuda does not start to get going until mid March unless you have a high tech field system with heat and irrigation. A&M field looked like doo-doo in the infield after hosting 20 strait home games to start the season.

Just hope that Texas keeps the same overall look of the field, and keeps the natural dirt around the bases, and home plate.

Texas will be joining Texas Tech and Kansas St with field turf baseball fields. Several other schools have installed it recently as well including Pac-10 schools, Oregon St, and both Washington clubs. Also watched StJohns/Navy play on the surface 30 minutes after heavy rain fall, and the head coach from Navy praised the abilities of Field Turf.
 
i've always heard money and seasonal reasons for no real grass. with the later start nowadays i would think it might be more cooperative with the needs of bermuda. also, i just don't understand how money can be an issue. the last 5-10 years or so have seen the venues of all 3 majors sports undergo renovation. i don't know the exact numbers, but i'm under the impression UT athletics is not hurting for cash
 
FiedlTurf is much better than the crap we have now which looks like it's from the 70s.

The Blue Jays, Rays and Twins all use FieldTurf at their ballparks, and the Mets and a couple of other MLB teams use it at practice facilities. FieldTurf is also becoming very popular among college teams. It's already been installed at Oregon St, Washington, Washington St, Texas Tech, Kansas St, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nevada, Columbia and the Naval Academy.

Many college football teams are moving over to fieldturf as well. It's actually a pretty decent surface and will be much better than what we have now. Of course, grass would be ideal, but it seems like that's still a pipe dream.
 
I've heard that sand is a real problem with FieldTurf. That the loose rubber fill makes it very difficult to manage with the sand and that is the reason that Tx Tech and Louisville only have sand on the mound, and not around the bases. In other words, you can't just vacuum the field like we do now because you will vacuum up all the black rubber filler. And if you let the sand settle in the "grass" it will cake up and create a hard surface. I really hope we keep the sand around the bases, but I'm not sure how it is managed. Seems like you could just periodically vacuum out all the filler and sand and then replace the filler. In any case, I think it will be an improvement over the current carpet.
 
Tech's field looks like ****. The sliding "pits" around the bases, as has been pointed out, are also Field Turf, and they look godawful.

I hate that Field Turf crap. I'd rather have what we have now than that ****.
 
The new AISD stadiums have field turf with sand, not the rubber balls. Might be the way to get around "dirt" in the rubber.
 
I hate they the field turf fields do not have dirt around the bases. That's ******* stupid and it looks horrible. This is not the way baseball was supposed to be played. What's the point of having a warning track?

Real grass wouldn't be that much harder. I was down on the field at Dell Diamond the other day and that is the best grass that I have ever been on. It makes you want to just take off running.

I'll take field turf over traditional turf, but damn, grass would be the end to all problems.
 
I read comments in the past that replacing the turf with natural grass would limit opportunites to hold summer camps and other uses of DFF that generate revenue.
 
Real grass is not a viable option because of all the things that DFF is used for. Too many games and events for the grass to handle. Field turf is crap though. The little pellets get stuck in everything. The last time I played on field turf I had to empty my shoes after every inning. And the stuff gets really packed in after a few years. The regular **** turf is much better than field turf.
 
Grass could be used, but it would require a lot of maintenance and a good groundskeeper. The Dell Diamond has had about 36 games and two weeks of baseball camps played on it in the past month. There are a few places that are a little more worn than usual, but it's still a top notch playing surface. The idea that natural grass would limit the number of games/events that they could host is somewhat valid, but doesn't hold a lot of water. The transition from rye grass to bermuda early in the season might pose a small challenge, but wouldn't be that difficult.
I'd really like to see UT play on natural grass, although I know this is a pipe dream.
 
the concern with camps/other events is 100% of the reason that the University abstains from grass. While the remarks about Dell may be true, one must remember that on the days that they do not have games, they do not have practices either. On the flip side, at the Disch, someone is on the field nearly every day.
 
So most other schools can have grass and still host playoff games, camps, TCL, and regular season baseball games but Texas can't?
 
I think the difference between UT and some other schools that have real grass, is the fact that we do not have a separate practice facility. I could be wrong about that, but it seems reasonable. Some would say that UT just needs to acquire some of the adjacent property around UFCU-DF, but those that have been around Austin for a while know that that is not as easy to do politically as one might imagine.
 
The other uses argument is the biggest BS reason I have ever heard for why we don't have real grass. Major league teams play 81 home games on their fields and look fantastic. And many of their fields end up getting used for occaisionally for football, concerts and other events.

At the most we have maybe 35 home games plus summer camps. Big deal.

I would only tolerate Field Turf if they have real base paths. If not it will be the same crap.

Hook em
 
that picture is awful.

also, i like the crappy, concrete turf. we play 1/2 our games on it and visitors playa handful on it. I see numerous errors by visitors throughout the year, due to are weird surface.
 
All:
I can absolutely 100% promise you that my earlier post is correct. I can also state with absolute certainty that unless otherwise noted, EVERYTHING that I post will be 100% truth, not opinion. I have read this board for years, and seen so many people miss the boat so many times, that I finally felt as if I had to sign up to clear the air on some things.

So again, the reason that the Disch is turf is because with Augie's practice schedule/routine, the amount of home games that are played, and the number of extra events that occur on the field, there would be no way to keep natural grass up to par. As I believe that I have mentioned, the arguement about a a big league stadium being able to do it is absurd on account of the fact that i) they are NEVER on the field except for the 80+ games a year, and ii) they have more money to play with. With regards to the idea that other Universities are able to hold camps etc, and get away with grass, I would suggest you drive out to the Disch to see how many people (oftentimes up to 500) come out the camps, and furthermore how often they are run... This isn't KU... These camps are obviously important to BOTH the athletic dept as well as the coaching staff, as they put a substantial amount of money in the pockets of all parties involved (rightly so I believe), and enable the University to not only have better facilities, travel etc, but also retain the best coaches.

Lastly, there probably is a little bit of an advantage for the team who always plays on turf, especially during the summer (read both "hot" and "post season") rolls around, as balls take bigger bounces in the outfield, and perhaps travel a little more quickly through the infield.
 
iknowipromise is correct.

Texas runs a huge number of camps and attendance at those camps is also huge compared to most schools. I went out to the Disch a few years ago between Christmas and New Years to see a friend's son at one of the camps. There must have been 200 kids on the field.

I can only imagine what it's like during the summer, but it seems like during summer months, every time I pass by the Disch, there's a camp going on.

The revenue from the camps probably pays for much/all of Augie's salary, and maybe even some of the other coaches'.

DeLoss has publicly stated that until Texas builds a practice facility (that can also be used for the camps), the Disch won't have a grass field.

The obvious solution is to dynamite that rundown Blacklands area behind the right field fence and build a practice facility and a huge parking garage for students -- one that could also be used for parking on game days.

But as somebody said, that is impossible, given the continuing insanity of Austin's head-up-its-*** politics.
 
We are the effing University of By God Texas. I think we can find a groundskeeper that can grow grass. Every other school in the nation certainly has. I was at Reckling for the regional and that field was awesome. WE NEED GRASS!!!
 
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